Interface: Last News

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Cable subscribers typically recognize a handful of news brands, including CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel. If Comcast has its way, they may start to search more readily for one outlet that has been linked more readily to the emerging realm of broadband. NBC News Now, the free ad-supported streaming service launched by NBC News in 2019, is set to be made a bigger a part of Xfinity, the consumer-facing cable-and-broadband service from corporate parent Comcast. NBC News Now will, starting Monday, become part of the company’s X1 platform and channel guide, alongside 20 other FAST channels. Users will see its offerings throughout various guides, including the ones pointing to live programming.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Gamers are in for a treat today as the highly coveted Xbox Series S console is down to the cheapest price we’ve seen for Prime Day.  A white version of the console is available for $199, $70 less than the upmarked prices seen on retailers for much of the year.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor IATSE has announced its core principles for the application of AI technologies in the entertainment industry. In a statement, IATSE, a labor union which represents over 160,000 technicians, artisans and craftspersons in the entertainment industry, said, “Our approach as a union must be comprehensive, focused on research, collaboration, education, political and legislative advocacy, organizing, and collective bargaining.” The statement comes at a time when AI remains an important topic in SAG-AFTRA and WGA negotiations. The principles laid out for its members include a comprehensive approach encouraging the union and its members to “focus on research, collaboration, education, political and legislative advocacy, organizing, and collective bargaining” when AI and machine learning technology is involved.

Reddit communities including some of its biggest clicked into to private mode today, meaning not accessible to the broader public, as they carried through on threats to protest the platform’s fees hikes to third-party app developers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Thousands of Reddit discussion forums have “gone dark” — temporarily closing their virtual doors — for what’s planned as a two-day protest over the company’s move to charge third-party apps for API access to the site. More than 6,500 subreddits as of Monday morning have gone dark, according to Reddark, a site that’s tracking the shutdowns. Those joining in the blackout include some of the most popular subreddits on the site, including r/funny, r/science, r/gaming, r/aww, r/Music, r/todayilearned and r/pics. “/r/Funny has gone private as part of the coordinated protest against Reddit’s exorbitant new API pricing,” says a notice on the forum’s landing page. “This community has shut down and will not grant access requests during the protest.”

Ben Croll Playing in competition in Annecy after premiering in Cannes, Jérémie Périn’s sci-fi thriller “Mars Express” offers an uncommon spin on modern anxieties — particularly when it comes to AI. “We so often imagine that if robots became sentient, they’ll kill us,” Périn tells Variety. “Or we see many sci-fi films where robots want to become human. In short, humans are always the point of reference – so mysterious and strange and interesting, such an amazing species. We’re a bit pretentious, and I didn’t want to play on that.” Written by Périn and Laurent Sarfati, “Mars Express” serves a heady pop-culture cocktail, mixing hard-boiled fiction with science-fantasy comix, riffing on Philip Marlow and Philip K. Dick (with winks to “Watchmen” and “Robocop” and oh so many more) with a mystery yarn that places humans and cyborgs on equal footing.“The film says robots and human are different, so we have to accept those differences. There’s no need for fear, no need for opposition. I feel like I’m singing ‘We Are The World,’” the director laughs.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent French CGI studio TeamTO, one of the biggest animation studios in Europe, has initiated development on “Jade Armor” Season Two. The move comes as TeamTO has produced on a service basis third party IPs ranging from “Kiya & the Kimoja Heroes” to Netflix hit “The Creature Cases.”  Progress on “Jade Armor” TeamTO is made in the wake of its moving last December into a brand new 2,700 square-meter (29,063 square-foot) studio facility in the Bastille district in Paris, as, in its busiest year ever, TeamTO is producing five third-party shows. Five more, all TeamTO original series, are airing around the globe.

Apple has entered the virtual reality arena, announcing a long-anticipated new headset and augmented reality platform called Vision Pro.

Drinks such as Diet Coke and Red Bull that contain artificial sweeteners could increase your risk of developing cancer, scientists have warned.

Taylor Swift and Matty Healy are about to take their romance to a whole new level… by becoming roommates! Yeah, you read that right.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Warner Bros. Discovery’s newly launched Max lumped film directors and writers under a single “creators” heading — a change that prompted a backlash from filmmakers and Hollywood’s directors and writers guilds. Now the company is changing the listings back, blaming the issue on a technical “oversight.” “We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserve their work to be properly recognized,” a Max spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake.” The move drew ire amid the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike, in which the union is seeking to reach a new contract with major studios.

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, “Change is the only constant in life.” The entertainment sector is no exception to this adage. It’s an industry that has long benefited from advancements in technology that have increasingly enriched the quality of films and programs and have also condensed the filmmaking process across the entire pipeline from pre-production to distribution and exhibition.

EXCLUSIVE: Australian indie Red Empire has launched a podcast version of its upcoming sci-fi TV series Interface.

Smart-TV maker Vizio reported better-than-expected results for the first quarter but still saw total revenue slump 27% as consumers cut spending in a time of ongoing inflation and economic worries.

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Gamsu is heading back to Warner Bros. Discovery.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor ZDF Studios, the commercial arm of German broadcaster ZDF, is to create the position of director international content partnerships with effect from May 1. The position will be taken by Jeffrey Haverkamp. The core tasks of this position, which has an interface between ZDF Studios and ZDF, will include initiatives to strengthen ZDF’s international programming partnerships, the exploration and initiation of framework and partnership agreements with new international programming partners of ZDF, and the evaluation of current programming offers with regard to the broadcaster’s programming needs. The position is located in the acquisitions and co-productions department, which provides services for ZDF. For the ZDF Studios Group, the creation of the new role is also intended to generate additional impetus for the distribution business from the development and expansion of international content partnerships.

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled three tiers for its new Max service today. The pricing keeps Max in line with HBO Max, and at the top end of the entertainment streaming spectrum. A price hike several months ago by HBO Max made it the most expensive service among major streamers, and the new set of plans will keep it just ahead of Netflix’s most popular U.S. plan, which now costst $15.49 a month.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Google is bringing together more than 800 livestreaming channels — including news channels from ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox — into a new guide in the Google TV interface. Google TV is launching free built-in channels that users can watch without downloading or launching an app. In total, it now offers over 800 channels and premium programming, including the addition of free channels from Fox Corp.’s Tubi, Plex and Haystack News, alongside the existing lineup of channels from Paramount Global’s Pluto TV. Google TV also provides channels from around the world, with programming in more than 10 languages including Spanish, Hindi and Japanese.

Variety spoke with 40 industry insiders about what they like, don’t like and downright hate about using the major streaming platforms. For Peter Gould, co-creator and executive producer of “Better Call Saul,” the key is having an easy way to get to all the industry-pertinent information he seeks. “I love it when you have quick access to trailers.

Gavin Bridge Senior Media Analyst Note: This article is based on Variety Intelligence Platform’s special report “2023 Media & Tech Trend Tracker,” available exclusively to subscribers. Connected TV is no longer the future but the present.  The format will ultimately be how the vast majority of TV content is viewed, consumed via apps built into smart TVs, and thus represents where ad revenue will derive.   This also explains why the likes of Comcast, Charter, Roku and Amazon have all announced plans to build their own TV sets in order to own as much of the new revenue stream as possible. 

“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” hit theatres on February 17, 2023.